"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Why do you constantly refer to politics as a "Game". A game tells me that it is a hobby or recreation or a distraction. If you were serious about politics, you would consider it your job and not a game.

30 November, 2011 8:38 AM

******************

Why do you constantly read my blog and suggest meaning that is not there ?

And why do you still, after all these years and all evidence to the contrary, continue to argue I am not absolutely as serious about representing my community as they are about having me represent them?

I was an invited guest at a town hall last night. Awards were being presented. I was aware the date of the annual event had been changed but little else.

Councillors normally have a role role in the program and are informed beforehand.

I wasn't paying much attention so I didn't think of it until I got to the town hall.

I was greeted as a stranger by strangers in theatrical costumes . Councillor Humphryes was by the Chamber door, clearly in an official capacity. The Mayor was there as well, in white tie and tails.

As I encountered various councillors, I asked if they knew anything about the program. Councillor Abel said he had attended a dress rehearsal in the morning. Well, I thought, that's new. What else don't I know?

Councillor Gallo didn't know any more than I didn't know. I kept going and found Councillor Ballard who was also as much in the dark as myself.

Finally I encountered Rick, the smiling face behind the reception desk in the evening, who prepares the council chamber for meetings, tidies up afterwards and takes care of security. He was busy with preparations but he went off to inquire. He came back and said councillors should find seats in the gallery.

Programs were handed out. The audience was smaller than usual. The chamber floor was set up differently with red carpet and all.

The event proceeded. Only volunteer awards were presented.

Videos were shown on the two screens at the back of the chamber.

Nominators gave the background for winning nominees. It was very nice.

It became obvious the audience was made up of winners and other nominees. The Mayor commended the organizing committee of communications division staff , chaired by Councillor Humphreys.

Finally it dawned on me. The event was by invitation.I was an invitee.

It was a very nice affair but something about it didn't sit right.

Later I expressed as much to Theresa, my daughter. It was a public event in a public place. It should not have been by invitation.

"Things change, mother" she responded archly.

No, I thought. Some things do not change.

But conscious of my super critical bent that must be kept in check. I said no more and sat down to watch television.

When I wakened later, I was no longer in doubt.

The town hall and town resources can not be used that way.

Either the people who pay for the whole shebang get to attend or there can be no shebang

It will not be me who tells the community, awards were presented in their name, in their town hall organized by staff on their payroll and they were not welcome at the party.

Tuesday, 29 November 2011

How is it that someone as dedicated as you are (politics is your life), someone who is as knowledgeable as you are, and someone who is as clever as you are, has so little influence, regardless of who is on council?

******************

And the sting is in the scorpion's tail.

Supposing my life is dedicated to politics as the game is played. And not to the community that chose me to represent them.

Supposing I am as knowledgeable as you say.

And as clever as you claim.

What does it take to be as influential as you think I am not?

How difficult can it be?

The last council thought they had the secret. They gave and gave and gave. No matter how outrageously selfish and shameful the demand.... council gave what was not theirs to give.

More often that not mine was the only opposing vote. Solitary status held out to prove my lack of relevance and how little influence I had in the scheme of things.

What is the scheme of things? Where lies the influence?

Is it with a bunch of toothless tigers seated at the table for a single term in office?

Or is it twelve thousand, full red of tooth and claw, who move things about a bit every four years.to better fit the scheme they have in mind?

1. A delegate, no matter where they are from, asking for a fee waiver has no direct impact on budget discussions. It is even more horrendous if they have anything to do with St Kitts.

2. Effective councillors are created when they baffle the simpleton public with bulls**t rather than intellegence.

3. The Mayor and CAO are making decisions without the benefit of council discussion. hmmmm sound familiar?

4. No news is good news from an employee staff performance perspective. I guess if we hide in our shells and not hear about any problems, there cannot be any problems.

5. We are spending $10k on a provincial membership for the second year in a row. Where was our eagle-eye councillor to pick this up last year????? I think she has let us down, perhaps too busy with lawsuits and such.

6. Executive staff at the Town are paid in excess of $100k per year. This is too much if we have to pay the province another $10k to help them perform better - even if it is not immediately noticed.

I think this post is proof that at least one councillor is out of touch with the reality of living in 2011. I don't think we are in Kansas anymore Toto.

Larry Fyne......

**************************

If the poster was paying attention last year. he would be aware, this councillor did not support the 2011
Budget. The main focus being the half million dollars given away to the Culture Centre Board with no requirement to council for its spending.

$100,000 granted to the Arboretum group to spend as they determine, was a second substantial figure beside which all else pales in comparison.

The CAO has authority to make expenditures up to a certain figure well beyond $10,000. I believe the figure is closer to $50,000.

In the CAO's first year, we had $75,000, in the budget for "leadership training". And I believe a similar amount in the second year.

Those first two budgets were in the last term.

Stay tuned. More info to come from this year's budget.

Last year's budget was the first for this council, within weeks of election to office.

I didn't sleep much.The night before. it was contemplation of the mega-million dollar budget.

Last night, it was the after effect of a frustrating day of budget discussion A La Dawe et Garbe.

They are a team.

Morning started off with yet another presentation on behalf of the St Kitts Jazz Festival.

The delegate informed us she had met with The Mayor and CAO who assured her of their support and great value to the town of the Jazz Festival. The request was for waiver of user fees for town facilities to be included in the budget.

We probably spent half an hour of our tightly scheduled day on the issue.

No doubt the Mayor and CAO felt it was something to make council feel useful.

As an administrative process, it had nothing whatsoever to do with the budget.

After a relatively sleepless night, I bestirred this morning with the image of something learned early in my career dancing like a sugar plum in my head.

I watched a particularly glib veteran councillor converse with a resident and realised his effectiveness came, not from what he knew, but from what the other fellow didn't.

Jimmy could have said the sky was purple and the guy would have walked away thinking his eyesight had failed overnight.

People believe essentially what they want. Those in the know , don't have to be intelligent or well-informed or even possessed of integrity. Just sly enough to know when to take advantage but not always smart enough to know when there's a difference.

Willingness to believe without thinking is the grease that keeps economic engines smooth and slippery.

It allows town budgets to climb by the millions without any real effort at control.

The Occupy movement has yet to realise Wall Street predators and other scam artists are able to freely indulge their greed, because people with life savings are only too eager to share the spoils.They are gullible but willing partners .

Here's how the budget has gone so far. The CAO and half the directors made presentations of goals and objectives and outlined what they need to accomplish department objectives for 2012

Then the Mayor asked if there were any GENERAL, comments or questions of the directors. That portion concluded, discussion of particular items was invited.

A recommendation was prepared for us in two parts. first was to receive the presentation; second to approve the budget as is.

Most department budgets were approved as is. I asked for the clauses to be voted on separately. But it's hard to keep track of how the votes went.

I understand the session was taped. I think it could be and should be.shown on the town's web site.

Certainly Councillor Gallo doesn't think he has had his last opportunity to make a difference.

I think that's what's intended.

In 2011, it was agreed to put $50,000 extra in council's budget for a curator capable of organising a museum and providing guidance and leadership to volunteers. The Director of Leisure Services was directed to report on terms of reference for the position The report is ready to be presented.

Yesterday the funds were dropped from the 2012 budget.

The CAO and the Mayor have held meetings with the Historical Society's business manager. Reference was made to the question of ownership of the museum collection. Subsequently, despite a public debate and a vote of council in support of the direction, the money was removed from the budget and the project effectively discarded.

No concern was expressed by council about the new direction decided by the Mayor and CAO.

The CAO's department budget came forward. An item referring to a program from an Institute for Excellence.

I asked about that. Turns out to be something bearing the imprimatur of the Lieutenant Governor. Membership is $10,000. It's the town's second year of membership which means we shall have spent $20,000 of town revenues.

Membership.provides individuals to come to the town hall to train staff to function better.

No previous reports indicated they were not functioning well.

Awards are presented upon completion. We got one of the thingies last year. A dignitary we never heard of came to Council-in-Committee and made the presentation. It wasn't done on camera. That's why you didn't notice.

I asked if the taxpayers would see direct benefit from the program. The CAO said no but in the long run , they would receive better service.

It's not how I see it. The institute, like many others, has likely been created to create jobs for friends of people in positions of sufficient influence to be able to pull that kind of mullarkey. Quite possibly campaign workers or contributors or the children of such, graduates from universities unable to find employment.

In small town Aurora, the Executive Leadership Team , less the Mayor, are among one per cent of Canadians who possess all the wealth in the country.

We hire staff and pay them commensurate with the skills they need for the job.They are not poorly paid.

Benefits are humungous. Worth as much as annual earnings for some people.

Twice as much as income of a pensioner eligible for the guaranteed annual income supplement.

Value of the benefits increased again this year by more than a Canada pension increase of several years.

I expect staff to be capable of doing the job they were hired to do. If not, the guy who does the hiring isn't.

At the salaries we pay directors, I expect them to have all the skills of a so- called trainers of excellence.

Willy-nilly awards in the name of the governor -general to whatever sucker municipality willing to hand over $10,000 for annual membership do not excite me.

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Nineteen comments made to the posts about the Church Street School. That's a record. By far the majority in favour of re-working the agreement.

I am inclined to scrap it.

The initial rationale for management of the facility came from a former treasurer, He had experience with a historical building in Cobourg. On the town's main street it was constructed when municipalities vied for the chance to become the Capital of Upper Canada.A hundred and fifty years ago.

Holland Landing was in the running.

Cobourg built a Parliament building to give them an edge.

A hundred years later, when it became clear they were not going to be the Capital, there were plans to demolish the building. It had served as a very grand town hall in the meantime. Cobourg was actually a Village.

An elderly woman of the community took it upon herself to mount a battle to save the building,won and was awarded the Canada Medal.

The annual conference of small urban municipalities was often held in Cobourg . A tour of the building was provided and it's champion introduced. It truly is a very fine historical artifact that never came to be.

Aurora's treasurer, for a couple of years, was involved in the restoration and operation plans for the Cobourg building.

To prevent it from becoming a sink hole for public resources, an arms length board was appointed. Seed money was provided and reduced each year.

The objective was to make the operation self-sufficient and separate from the political imperative.

When the consultant presented the business plan for Church Street School to council, start-up funds of $500.000. to be reduced by $100,000, each year were recommended. The operation would be self-sufficient in five years .Funding would be $1.5 million in total.

The board would be required to operate as a business. They would seek sponsorships to contribute to the program.

An Ad Hoc Arts and Culture Committee had been appointed. Councillors Gaertner and Granger were council's representatives. The former Mayor's friend Ken Whitehurst was a member.

Catherine Malloy, curator had been recently appointed by the Historical Society and served as staff resource person to the committee.

Ms Malloy successfully processed an application for a grant from Heritage Canada and $770,000 was received. It paid for the HVAC system and interior storm windows neccessary to provide suitable atmospheric conditions for the museum.

Subsequently, Ms Malloy left and accepted a position in a Markham museum.

Ken Whitehurst, a committee member, was temporarily appointed resource person to the committee with remuneration.

It's not clear who wrote the agreement in place and now being reviewed by the town solicitor. It's a fair bet there was no legal input and the treasurer with the experience was no longer with the town.

The principle of operational self-sufficiency apparently got lost along the way.

The museum was interpreted right out the door.

And the facility has become exactly the sink hole of public resources originally feared.

Saturday, 26 November 2011

once again, when it comes to the Aurora Cultural Centre, you have no idea what you are talking about but nice job on spreading half truths and innuendo. thousands of visitors to the centre have found great joy in the programs , moving exhibits like the Faces of war put on by AHS last few weeks and just a great addition to our community. Week after week of negativity from you .........it's getting tiresome

**********

The above is posted to throw light on another facet of this problem.

I am a member of Aurora's Council, I have both responsibility and authority to ensure tax resources are managed wisely.

From time to time, maybe much of the time,my questions may rankle with people who expend town resources.

Tough noogies

My inquiry went to the town's CAO. Who referred it to the Centre's Executive Director.

A response came from the Centre Board Chair. Written for him by the Centre's Executive Director.

Quickly followed by a flurry of comments critical of myself, posted to my blog by the Centre's Small but Merry Band of Brave but Anonymouse Warrior Defenders.

It'll no dae, ye ken. What was done badly will be undone. I won't let go of it until it's fixed.

Last term ,I voted against the re-organisation study and its recommendations.

I've seen nothing since to persuade me I was wrong.

I find things that convince me the plan was as bad as I thought it was.

Responsibilities were shifted between departments. Management of facilities was transferred to the domain of Infrastucture and Environmental services from Leisure Services .

Leisure Services provides the programs within the facilities. Half the department's responsibility was managing and maintaining the space needed for the variety of programs provided by the department

It takes skill. It takes experience.

A clause in the Culture Centre Agreement requires the town to approve lease agreements for space within the centre.

The first decision made by the Centre board was to lease space intended for the museum to the York Region Arts something or other. Request for approval went to Environment and Infrastructure. They gave it.

Why wouldn't they? What would they know ? Management of facilities to provide for needs of groups requiring space for different programs was not a skill they possessed.

In the "re-org" they got the manager of facility maintenance. Management of space stayed with Leisure Services.

At times it seems I am losing whatever basic skills I have acquired. This post is a follow- on to the previous post. The post below filled the window and I couldn't move down further with the rest of what I had to say.

Council directed the solicitor a few weeks ago to review the Culture Centre Agreement, its pros and cons, and report back on how it serves the community's interest.

The Mayor had a bit of a problem with that. Said he was aware of the solicitor's heavy workload.

The solicitor said he understood the request and would be able to report in a month.

It happened in a public meeting so I am not telling tales out of school.

We haven't heard yet

I think it's a piss poor agreement. Subject to all kinds of interpretation. It should be an embarrassment to all.

The Historical Society's former curator informed me, the reason given for no space provided for a museum was because a museum doesn't bring in any revenue.

We regularly see events such as sing-alongs promoted admission free. Held on week-day afternoons, they were previously entertainment for the seniors in their own facility, designed for such events.

So ...what's up with that.

Seniors pay membership to belong to the club. The greater part of the fee is paid to the town.The service to seniors is not free.

In return, the town provides a beautiful facility plus maintenance and staff on hand to program events.

When events such as sing-alongs are held, the group providing the entertainment are compensated. Naturally. Seniors pay an admission fee to cover the cost. Seniors have an executive who manage the business affairs of the club.

At the Church Street School, the entertainment is free while costs are absorbed.

I don't know if that's why events,once held at the seniors' centre, are now held at the Church Street School.

Obviously, if sing-alongs were not being held at the school, nothing else would be at the time. Equally obvious, if they are not being held at the Seniors centre ,that facility is not being used for the purpose intended. And, if the expense of a sing-along is not met by revenue from admissions, it's met by funds provided by the town from tax revenues.

How does that represent sound financial management of town affairs?

I don't need a solicitor to advise the community's interest is not served by maintaining an agreement for a further three years with an expenditure of one and a half million dollars funded by the town's hard-pressed residential and business taxpayers with no accountability whatsoever.

I will move the item be removed from the town's budget. I will not vote to continue funnelling more than half a million dollars of tax revenues a year and free space to an organisation with no responsibility or accountability to the taxpayer.

I forwarded the latest promotion from the Cultural Centre to the CAO , asking to be informed of how using the facility for sales of products fit into terms of reference for the operation. My request was forwarded. I received the response below later in the day.

Hullo.....
The 'Starry, Starry Night' event, is more correctly described as a fund raising event.
Fundraising by the Church Street School Cultural Centre is explicitly stipulated in our Cultural Services Agreement (paragraph 11.4) and implicitly through the stipulation in paragraph 2 that we function in accordance with Strategic Study which also mentions fundraising. Regards,
Rob Layton
for the Church Street School Cultural Centre
On Fri, Nov 25, 2011 at 12:01 PM, Laura Schembri <lauraschembri@auroraculturalcentre.ca> wrote

The one in the post below. I think there's a way of shrinking a picture to fit into a space. I just don't know how.

The picture is a promotion for a silent auction being held at the Church Street School building. Items you see in the picture are available for sale to the highest bidder.

Proceeds of the sale will "contribute" to programs provided at the centre. It doesn't say by what percentage.

The items can be seen at the" show" at the centre on six afternoon a week from one to four.

The town's logo is in place at the bottom of the promotion. The centre gratefully acknowledges funding from the town.

The town provides a building worth several million dollars, rent-free to an arm's length Board. We also provide maintenance services and utilities free of the cost to the tune of $150,000.

Last year the town provided funds in the amount of $347,000 to spend as the board saw fit.

No accountability for any of it.

Space in the building is rented out to another organisation. More revenue without accountability.

Various programs previously provided in other locations within the community are now provided at the school facility on an admission "free" basis.

Now the facility is being used to sell, what appear to be gifts, in time for the gift-giving season, to raise even more revenue. For which they are not accountable.

I have asked town staff to provide an explanation of how the latest enterprise fits in with the terms of reference for this operation.

For the sake of comparison, .the town's operation budget for other leisure facilities this year was $5 million. Revenue from the same was $5 million.

To-night, members of the Aurora Optimist Service Club are gathering at the library to organise new and nearly new books, for their annual book sale. Which happens tomorrow.

There's a Childrens room at the library funded by the Optimists. Proceeds from the annual book sale contribute to annual service provided.

At Tuesday's Council meeting, the Mayor presented awards to three local businesses which , over and above contributing to the town's assessment base and providing jobs in the community, also pay for the summer concerts enjoyed by thousands of residents in the park with no admission charged.

the concerts are not funded from the town treasury.

This year, the Aurora Rotary Club contributed the first of three payments of $5,000. for improvements to Rotary Park.Rotary club members work hard to raise the funds.

What's wrong with this picture?

Local businesses and service clubs dig into their pockets and contribute to the social and cultural well-being of the community. They operate businesses and provide jobs and pay taxes in good times and bad and still they go above and beyond.

Then we have others, who hold their hands out, demand payments from tax resources and enter into competition with the very businesses and clubs that keep on giving.

It ain't right, y'know. There's nothing about it that makes any sense.

Something is up with my keyboard. I may have fixed it. But I'm not exactly sure how.

I was saying:

The government made the decision during the election campaign to cancel construction of a gas fired power generation plant being built in Missausaga to replace the dirty coal-fired generation plant which Hazel made them promise to shut down during the previous election.

Questions were asked why construction did not actually stop.

People said; "What about the money already spent? "

Understandably so.

The answer, not provided, would have been problematic. Only now has construction stopped.

The process to arrive at a contract award and construction underway is lengthy and hugely expensive for all parties .

It can be stopped . But only by agreeing to pay. Oh My how we pay.

Quite possibly full cost of the contract. Whatever horrendous amount that might be.

Awarding a government contract is more than a friendly handshake. Engines crank into high gear which cannot be shut down.

Materials are not bought off the shelf. They have to be manufactured for the purpose.

Manpower has to be in place for the term of the contract.

Funds have to be secured pending government payments.

Everything swings into gear, at great expense, for governments plans to be realised.

Once the contract is signed and sealed both parties are obligated . No ifs ands or buts.

If the government changes its mind. The government pays.

A contractors with a legal contract for a mega million dollar project cannot be bankrupted because politicians conduct themselves like flibberty-gibbet teen-age divas driven by hormones during election campaigns, while going about with solemn countenance and inspiring hand gestures to instill confidence and trust among the people.

It means the government will do a lot of talking about the merits of responsibility within waste management systems. It won't actually do anything. Though it might periodically send a reminder to municipalities depending on how many people they have sitting around in offices needing to occupy their minds and hands and justify their existence.

The reminder may in turn be re-interpreted and relayed to politicos as legislative requirements. Said politicos not knowing the difference between baffle gab and legislation might well embark on an $800,000 project to meet government requirements.

Ensuring that clear and fair energy policies support sound planning and investment in Ontario’s electricity system;

This one is precious. Just yesterday the government affirmed a decision made during the election campaign to stop construction on a gas-fired (clean-alternative to coal) hydro generation plant in Mississauga.

In the previous election, they committed to close down coal fired hydro generation plants in Mississauga. And they did

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

The treatment facility for a per cent of !% percent of the snow that falls on Aurora's roads this winter will not be treated by a facility that was to cost $800.000.

$163,000 already spent on a design last year is a write off.

The item was once again the subject of vigorous discussion at a budget meeting last night.

It was not approved.

At one point a voice was raised and a hand hit the table... forcefully

I do not apologise. I really get upset when I see taxes in millions piled on people's backs for no good reason I can fathom.

I know some people who don't see taxes as a hardship. Not surprisingly, many of them are on the public payroll.

Some of them,the 1% earning the mostmoney in Canada.

I heard that on television.

I myself don't see taxes as a hardship so long as the community receives a full return.

Last night we talked about spending $14,3 million on an architect designed,combined works and parks building on a different site estimated at $5 million.

The architect made a presentation. It was revealing

Current space is poorly organised. Space is wasted. Washrooms, showers and change rooms are inadequate.

Storage for road salt required based on per capita populations is inadequate.

Vehicle bays are used for storage. A board room is used as a lunch room.

Contractors store equipment on town property . Probably use the facilities as well.

Stored materials are not properly separated and get mixed up as a result.

We saw pictures.

There's a safety issue. Site lines are not clear for trucks coming and going. Poorly planned access is the problem

The works building is old. It's falling apart. No details were provided.

The site is not big enough for two operations but too big for one.

Heritage salvage is stored elsewhere.

Ifa site isnpurchased at the estimated $5 million elsewhere, operations can continue on the current site while the architect-designed building is being constructed.

We turned down an opportunity to buy an abutting site to add to the ours in the council term before last.

Thirty-five years ago, the current pre-fabricated building was purchased and assembled on the site.

The new plan was not rubber-stamped last night.

Council Gallo expressed the thought that council should have an opportunity to discuss how departments operate and consider efficiencies.

I thought that was a very polite way of saying... WTF

According to the report, there is ample room for such a discussion. I am always intrigued when informed of wasted space,disorganisation and other inefficiences and the only solution is to spend $14.3million dollars on a new building o a site

Part of the advantage of contracting work out is that it saves space, employees and equipment.

Last night's debate produced a spark from the other side of the table. Opposing the idea of council learning how department's operate came the argument

" If you want to run the town departments"

I'm not sure if it came from Councillor Thompson, I don't think so. Or Councillor Pirri. I know it wasn't Councillor Humphreys or Gaertner.

It was a reckless remark. It won't be forgotten.

Nor should it.

Politics is the only place one can engage in all-out battle without worrying too much about whose feelings are being hurt.

We are not fighting for ourselves but for the people who sent us.

I know little about Councillor Gallo except occasionally seeing photos of his two beautiful children.

I believe he manages a property maintenance company.

I don't know if the company manages company- owned properties.

I do know the property maintenance business is brutally competitive.

A company can fail instantly by the loss of a contract.

Efficiency in such a business is key to survivaI

It's not the same in public business.There's always the taxpayers pocket.

A Yes or No Question to end your long day. Chris
Watts seems to know how many people check in daily
who just use him for information or amusement, Can
you figure out what percentage actually provide you
with any feedback ?

The last post is obviously a copy of a news article. I had started to add bits and pieces of information to the one previous post. Then I realised the whole article is relevant to our current situation.

Toronto is providing a twenty-four hour operator service. High absenteeism is a problem and uneven performance.

Membership in the public service union means absenteeism affects service but not the bottom line.

If it's like Aurora, employment starts with three weeks vacation.

So for every seventeen operators, one extra is needed to cover for vacations

It's a 24/7 service. We just hired eighteen fire fighters to fill three shifts

How complaints can there be about pot-holes and garbage collection in the wee hours of the morning? Who would the calls be directed to in the nine to four operation?

How did Toronto Council allow themselves to be persuaded this boondoggle would be a good thing?

Maybe the former Mayor's executive committee got it through without the rest of council understanding what a crock it was.

If Mayor Ford decides to remove that baggage off the gravy train, what will accusations will be hurled at him?

It would be acknowledgement of eighty milllion dollars down the drain.

It is currently described as a problem that needs fixing"

How much more would it cost to get rid of it?

Toronto has full-time aldermen. They each have an office and $75,000 office budgets. I think there are forty-five of them .They control their own budgets. Spend as they will.

Remember the provincial E-Health scam that swallowed millions and produced nada.

There was a director there earning hundreds of thousands a year, who expensed a coffee and a muffin at an airport restaurant.and contracted out work to consultants.

George Smitherman was Minister in Charge.Then candidate for Mayor. of Toronto.The scandal was remembered. He didn't win.

No-one will be sitting in an office at city hall ,worried about losing his/her job over the useless and extravagant call service. Too many were complicit in approving the plan, up to and including the elected body, the former and current Mayor.Not the same.

Rob Ford with all his rough edges, ran a campaign in opposition to "the gravy train"

Will this mean city departments go back to looking after their own complaints and elected members doing whet they are paid to do?

Will it mean smaller municipalities, tempted to jump on that fast-moving train because neighbours are doing it, might pause and take a second look at where that train is heading?

In these days of social media, issues tend to linger near the forefront.

They do not fade into the background as once they did. when private news media were in charge of all information.

Toronto's 311 service needs a fix

Posted: Nov 17, 2011 9:36 AM ET

Last Updated: Nov 17, 2011 9:26 AM ET

A report from Toronto's auditor general says one in five calls to the city's 311 information line go unanswered. iStockTorontonians who dial 311 are usually hoping for help with a problem – but an audit of the service suggests the line itself needs a fix.
Operators at the 24-hour line are supposed to field public inquiries and improve accessibility to non-emergency services, but 21 per cent of calls are never answered at all.
The report from Jeffrey Griffiths, the city's auditor general, points to high operator absenteeism as one reason the line is struggling. He also notes that staff performance is not uniform.
Call logs from March show that one operator answered 98 calls while another answered only 21.

'People get really frustrated'

Councillor Josh Matlow says he and his colleagues at City Hall find it easier to order a pizza than to get basic service from the help line.
People living in the Beaches—East York area, or Ward 32, make the most 311 calls per capita, and constituents have complained to their councillor, Mary-Margaret McMahon, citing long wait times and inaccurate information.
"We're way behind other cities and that's not a good place to be," said McMahon.
Citizens call about everything from ordering a new recycling bin to reporting graffiti.
"That's your front line for helping people in the city and if it's not working then that's a problem and people get really frustrated," she said, adding that the two-year-old line is still experiencing growing pains.

"We're way behind other cities and that's not a good place to be."—Councillor Mary-Margaret McMahon, Ward 32

Griffiths points out that other cites such as New York, San Francisco and Ottawa answer more calls with fewer staff than Toronto. He recommends the city address chronic absenteeism and ensure workers take more calls.
The city spent nearly $40 million to implement the 311 system and now spends nearly $20 million annually to operate it. Most calls are related to garbage collection and pothole repair.
In addition to the phone number, the city also provides a range of online services, including self-service requests.

Friday, 18 November 2011

Rules of order I feel are guidelines rather than hard and fast rules when it come to local government.

Was there any harm caused by Sandra's actions?

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The writer is misguided. Rules of order are legislated by bylaw for the purpose of completing corporate business in a timely and efficient manner.

Nine people are engaged in decision-making.

It's not possible without acceptance of a set of rules all agree to live by.

Rules should not stifle debate.

Rules must be fair to all.

Rules should be few, simple, straightforward and easily memorised.

Points of order to silence a point of view or prevent information from being brought forward do not contribute to good order. They feel like harassment.

Rules must be combined with even-handed judgment.

With social media at our finger tips, that which is not allowed to be said during a debate in council will effectively be broadcast elsewhere.

Without pros and cons, the essence of debate is lost.

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I caught a flash news item day before yesterday. An audit of Toronto's 311 phone service has revealed 21% of phone calls are lost. They get no response.

311 is apparently the number for citizen inquiries or communications with the city.

Two years ago, it cost the city $40million to implement and $20million to operate.

It sound like a Customer Service Gizmo that doesn't work.

You can call me an old-stick-in-the- mud. I have argued against a "customer service" system being introduced at great expense and lost the argument.

Funds have been expended and more will be. It's included in the budget.

I know of no problem with customer service that needed attention. People call the town office. If, for any reason, there is no response, they have eight Councillors and a Mayor available. Calls I receive are nothing I can't handle. I imagine most members would say the same.

We are a small town. We are not, in the foreseeable future, going to be anything but a small town

If we can't provide quality customer service to residents without buying an expensive "system" devised by some outfit with a crack sales pitch, something is seriously out of kilter and its not.

I don't care if Whitchurch-Stouffville and Newmarket are doing it.

I wonder if the severely critical audit report to Toronto Council means the system will be deemed to have created problems that weren't there in the first place?

How much of the taxpayers money will have been wasted?

What will it take to get out of the mess?

We are glad we don't live in Toronto . We should be able to influence the decisions to be made.

It used to be known as Management Team. I think the title and function were more apt..

The Mayor is Head of Council. The two positions are not the same. Each councillor has authority and separate accountability.The Mayor's role is leadership. Not the same thing as being the boss.

I have previously referred to the disadvantage of being Head of Council without political experience. A big drawback is not knowing ,what you don't know and learning it by doing it in a fish bowl.

Something happened on Tuesday which indirectly illustrates the point.

A delegation presented for the Farmers' Market. Councillor Humphreys had been named contact person between Council and the Market. I'm not sure what it meant but everyone seems pleased about it. . So that's O.K.

Councillor Humphreys engaged the delegate in a lengthy conversation. Which the rules do not permit. No point of order was called. Sandra is well regarded.

Had Councillor Gaertner done the same thing, someone would assuredly have called a point of order. Wendy has rubbed more than a few people the wrong way.

But that's not right. Called from the chair or the floor, the rules must apply without bias.

If not, more problems than solutions are created in a heavily competitive political environment..

Resentment poisons the atmosphere. You have to be on the receiving end of bias, to appreciate the
counter-reaction. It may not be pretty.

A presiding member who does not understand the imperative of impartiality,. does not have an opportunity for leadership. It is not subject to command.

Dynamics of a council are fluid. Currents run beneath the surface. They twist and turn and sometimes. instantaneously, gather force and suck everything down into a vortex.

The Mayor operated a successful business. Decisions were his alone to make.

Working with eight other people to achieve a majority decision, with everything happening as it should and each Councillor bringing a perspective to the table to be heard before a vote is cast , calls for something more an orchestration.

Any hint of group conferencing prior to debate is not conducive to harmony. It bespeaks a lack of confidence, courage and a tendency to dependency.

Councillors are wise to seek knowledge from staff . But it's only part of the responsibility.

Personal judgement is the other part. Each Councillor is accountable for the vote he casts.

If the electorate considers facts presented and withheld and arrives at a different judgment,it does not profit a councillor to explain "I did my homework and thought it was right"

People will make up their minds if they have all the facts. They will make up their minds if they don't.

It's best if they have all the facts.

If I don't believe a particular expenditure is in the best interest of the community I serve it's my job to say so and articulate the reason why.

A scent of roses fills my kitchen. The yellow buds opened overnight in the vase over the sink.My daughter Heather brought them in yesterday because the forecast indicated they would not likely survive another night outside.

Other flowers have already been nipped and died .The rose continued to bud and bloom and the snapdragons still flourish.. Not quite in so much profusion as summer but still a cluster.

The garden is at the side of the house where originally was driveway. They are sheltered from wind on either side but not at the ends .It's a remarkable thing, in mid November to still have flowers blooming.

Not only that,snapdragons re-seed .They survive winter in the ground and come back in great profusion every spring.

The rose is more than thirty years old. I planted it with a dozen others, all long gone.

I may have inadvertently created an English garden in a Canadian environment or the globe really is warming. The latter is more likely than the former.

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Chapter 2

Snow does not fall to the extent it did.. Some years, gardens come out of the winter parched and hard. Plants are no longer kept warm with a blanket of snow.

Children don't build snow forts in the ditches at the end of driveways. There hasn't been an occasion in years, when we had to walk to Yonge Street for bread and milk because it couldn't be delivered

There's room to walk, so kids on the way to school don't have to share icy stretches with vehicles.

Other things have changed. Fewer retailers are in the town's core. From Wellington to Mosley, parking is never fully taken up . Saturdays are like Sundays with barely a sign of life.

I remember having to step wide and high over slushy snow to get into the town hall. It was not collected and taken elsewhere to melt.

We had no sidewalk plows either. Sidewalks had to be shovelled by owners.

We don't have sidewalks on my road.. So there's nothing to plow. We pay for the service just the same. It's an irritant that makes one especially sensitive to inequity and other senseless actions

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Chapter 3

A report returned again on Tuesday. It has been presented several times. It is altered a bit each timeit appears. Signed by the Chief Administrative Officer and Director of Environmental and Infrastructure Services,it was back despite a council directive otherwise.

A dis-used parking lot off Industrial Parkway is used for snow taken from the downtown core block a few times durimg three months of winter.

$800,000 has been budgeted since 2007 for a treatment facility for melting snow.

$163,000 has already been spent for a consultant to design a treatment facility for salt abatement to ensure safe drinking water.

The contradiction that first struck me is that salt dissolves. It can't be removed. Unless of course one is intent upon changing a desert into arable land.

Eventually, it was acknowledged salt cannot be removed.

But it was the stated purpose of the plan.,to satisfy an Environment Ministry directive.

After discussion and input from the community, the very existence of salt in snow melt became questionable.

The Mayor volunteered public works uses brine not crystallized salt. When snow is on the way, brine is applied to pavement. It melts the snow whenever it hits.Brine is crystallized salt with water added.

We apply minimal salt to keep roads passable.

Any salt remaining in snow plowed to the side of the road, would continue the melting process. There would be no snow to remove.

The aquifer from which our water is drawn is hundreds of feet below ground and separated from the surface by an impermeable layer of clay. It has been carbon dated at four thousand years old and despite centuries of human habitation on the surface,it is crystal clear and free of contamination from any human activity.

The report came forward. again. This time with a map of the well head area. Wells are on the other side of Yonge Street at the far end of the community centre parking lot. on Aurora heights Drive.

The new report said pollution from salt would take two years to travel. It moves horizontally.Well, I ask you; since when does water move sideways without a purposely built obstruction.

We had a presentation from a regional rep with results of several years of study, identifying risks to ground water supply.

Dry cleaning fluid was one.

Road salt was stated not to be a risk factor.

Council directed deferral until Ministry of Environment approval had been received. It was anticipated in November.

The report was on the agenda again on Tuesday despite Council's decision. Ensuring council's direction is followed. is the responsibility of the Mayor and Municipal Clerk.

By coincidence, a letter of approval from the Office of the Ministry of Environment was an add-on to the agenda which included re-appearance of the report.

The Ministry gave five year approval for a Plan for Salt Abatement.

Tuesday's report provided new information; snow is removed for the convenience of commuters.

The town does not provide parking for commuters.

No salt is used in parking lots provided by the town.

Why the town's administration deems it reasonable to persist in recommending $800.000 be expended on a plan that has not stood the test of political scrutiny totally mystifies me.

I suspect other representatives of the people may be having the same difficulty.

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Concluding Chapter.

If,despite evidence to the contrary, soluble salt,by some process unknown to man , remains suspended in particles, in snow, without melting said snow and being carried below a permeable layer of clay to an aquifer tested and determined to be 4,000 years old and free of all pollutants caused by human activity, two options are available to us.

The first is to leave the stuff where it is. at the side of the road. as we do in all other areas of the town,to melt naturally and find it's way into storm sewers, installed for the purpose, also at great expense to the taxpayer.

Did I mention the theory that water with unproven salt comment moves horizontally over a two year period towards the well head area rather than sinking into the ground. to be taken up over a two year period by growing vegetation.

The second is...well there is no second.

If you are still with me, thank you for your attention.

Imagine what it's like to respond again.and again. civilly and respectfully, to that which makes less sense as the argument continues. and involves spending$800,000 o your hard-earned resources.

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

christopher watts has left a new comment on your post "E-Mail Flurry":

Clr. Buck,

Could you please help me to clarify my understanding of the issue of naming this park.

On page 14 of the 2011 Capital Projects report available online here:
http://www.town.aurora.on.ca/app/wa/mediaEntry?mediaEntryId=58159

Project 73133 is listed as "David English Park"

Under Explanation/Highlights it reads:

"This Park has been named David English Park resulting from Council approved fundraising event where the naming rights of this proposed park were sold."

Am I to understand that there were two fundraising events to name the same park?

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No.... there was one fundraising event. It was a hospital building fund event, I believe. The town donated naming rights for two separate parks to the auction . Several thousands of dollars were bid on each. It was highly successful. The former Mayor was very pleased by the amount of money raised in this fashion. As were the organisers ,I imagine.

I spent the day trying to connect. By the time I did, it was time to leave for a council meeting.

Where we learned there is as much nincompoopery at the Ministry of Environment as in any other environ of government.

The day before, Monday, was an all- day session to discuss capital items in the town's budget.

I was an hour late for the start .

I do not normally commit to be anywhere before noon.

It has to do with my pattern of living. At night, I allow myself to fall asleep in my bug comfy chair. It's an indulgence in which I luxuriate. I am usually watching Letterman.

Then after an hour or two,I bestir myself and hie to bed. More often than not, I lie awake for the next couple of hours. Not infrequently I will rise again and write a blog. It's not a problem. I can go back and sleep until I wake. Which could be ten o-clock or later.

Who's to care?

So.... on Monday, I wasn't sleeping. I had to be at the Town Hall by nine a.m. I rose at five a.m. I thought I would write a short post explaining why I wouldn't be writing a post and go back to bed and get a couple of hours sleep and be on my way in plenty of time.

It's not how it happened . A couple of hours later, I wrapped up the post.

Not a good idea to go back to bed and maybe waken at ten or thereafter.

So, I went to my chair. I have this marvelous facility for cat-napping. I can close my eyes and drift off. Twenty minutes later, I'm back in time to be where I need to be.

On Monday morning it was not to be. I could not drift off .I was thinking about where I needed to be and when. Finally I did. When I opened my eyes again, it was an hour later than it needed to be

Monday, 14 November 2011

There was a little flurry this week-end. Council's agenda recommends yet another contract award.This time for construction of David English Park..

Staff have had to request funds beyond the original budget. An explanation was attached as required.

The park was to have been built by the developer. Staff had worked to make that happen. He wanted it in place for would-be-home buyers to appreciate the neighbourhood.

The project was designed and costs calculated. Development charges would have been credited.

The plan did not go forward.

When the site plan was being considered by Council, former Councillor MacEachern objected to inclusion of a park. It was a small neighbourhood. While the park would be funded with development charges, maintenance cost would be a burden to taxpayers.

The argument did not carry. The park was included in the site plan. .

A Master Recreation Plan had been commissioned by Council. The draft was submitted and referred to the Leisure Services Committee. chaired by the former Councillor.

The Draft did not re-emerge from the committee for many months. When it did.it had been re-written by the Councillor and committee member,and former mayor's friend, Ken Whitehurst.

Council adopted the re-written version of the Plan.

The David English Park did not proceed. Approval of the Master Recreation Plan had to come first.

As is the norm,the subsequent park design was in consultation with new home-owners. It includes a playground. The price is $126,955,52 beyond the original.

As noted above. development charges collected are not sufficient.

At the week-end, a Councillor circulated an e-mail to the Director and the rest of Council, requesting confirmation of his understanding of the report.

It was Sunday. I took it upon myself to provide the confirmation and several other pertinent details and replied to all.

Since a former Councillor's name was referenced in my e-mail. Councillor Ballard forwarded it to the former Councillor and invited input.

Another small but interesting facet relates to the story

Naming the yet-to-be-built park ,was a prize in a successful fund-raiser for the cancer care facility at South Lake Health Centre.

The former Mayor took a deal of pride in several thousands of dollars being raised in that fashion.

Sunday, 13 November 2011

Soon after election in 2003, a call came from a resident on Yonge Street North. The view from her sitting room window was rented housing, in sad and neglected state, across the street.

A mattress was half leaning, half lying on the ground between two houses. A bus stop and traffic lights were in close proximity.

The view of our town by the carriage trade did not commend us.

My caller understood the mattress was on private property but it was a long-standing irritant and she hoped there was a solution.

I called the Works Director and conveyed the problem.

Before the day was out, the mattress was gone.

Aurora collects such items as garbage. The sidewalk in front of the house had limited capacity. A mattress is bulky. Ownership was questionable.It never found its way out.

At the end of the day, my caller was content.

I was re-assured all was well.

The Works Director and his Foreman are both gone now. After the Director's departure, the Foremen told me in a conversation how a call would come through; "Drop whatever you're doing " would be the command.

The problem would be relayed and promptly acted upon.

Last Tuesday. I brought to attention, in a public meeting. a pile of concrete rubble on a town boulevard. It had been there long enough for grass and weeds to mature and obscure it.

At the meeting, I was asked by the director to specify the location. The project was affirmed to be regional and contracted out. I had spoken about it previously. to no avail.

On Friday,at the end of the work week, the rubble was still there.

Discussion at Tuesday's meeting focused on awarding a contract for a soft ware program in the amount of $444.610.80

The objective is to track assets

Work orders are to be processed by computer.

Staff are to be "trained ". New staff are to be hired.

Problems needing correction were not identified in the report.

No work plan outlined.

No savings or payback time specified.

My question is; how will an abandoned mattress on private property, fit into a program, designed to track assets and work orders.

Obviously it won't.

Does it mean such a problem will continue to be solved to the satisfaction of residents?

Not so obvious.

The Region was referenced on Tuesday as having satisfactory experience with the software.

Evidence might indicate otherwise.

Thirty-seven dead tree stalks, left in full view on a public right-of-way, surrounded by expensive planting paraphernalia for several years, do not commend the region's asset tracking system.

In Aurora this morning, the sky was clear and brilliant in the morning sunshine. The nice young police officer who let me park in the Canadian Tire parking lot entrance opposite the Cenotaph, told me there was snow north of Newmarket and two inches of the stuff in Barrie.

In the U.K., the sky would most likely be leaden. In year's past, the first of London's pea soup fogs would be drifting through the streets.

We are in the tenth decade of the time when the first Armistices day was marked, to denote a nation's sorrow.

The war was over. Almost an entire generation of men in the flower of youth had been wiped out and loved ones devastated.

Thousands of others, missing limbs or disabled by mustard gas became familiar sights.

Years passed. Life went on. The 1914/18 war was resumed and yet another generation of youth was annihilated during the 1939/45 war, even more horrifying than the first if possible, with new and terrible weapons invented for the purpose.

Whoever thought of people gathering throughout the world to mark two minutes of silence to remember the awful sacrifice, did a good thing.